Los Angeles has become a new epicenter in the pandemic as
coronavirus cases and hospitalizations surge there despite
California Governor Gavin Newsom's strict orders requiring bars to
close and residents to wear masks in nearly all public spaces.
"The alarming increases in cases, positivity rates and
hospitalizations signals that we, as a community, need to take
immediate action to slow the spread of COVID-19," Barbara Ferrer,
director of public health for Los Angeles County, said in a
statement announcing the sharp rise.
"Otherwise, we are quickly moving toward overwhelming our healthcare
system and seeing even more devastating illness and death," Ferrer
said.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a "hard pause" on when
movie theaters, theme parks and other entertainment venues can
reopen. Los Angeles County is the biggest movie theater market in
the United States.
Los Angeles County said its beaches will be closed for the
Independence Day weekend and fireworks displays will be banned.
Statewide positive tests for COVID-19, the respiratory illness
caused by the virus, rose by at least 7,418 in California Monday to
nearly 223,000, the biggest one-day increase since tracking began.
Los Angeles County, with a population of 10 million, has recorded
100,000 cases.
California is among a number of U.S. states including Florida, Texas
and Arizona battling a new wave of infections as the nation emerges
from weeks of clamp-downs on residents and businesses. COVID-19
infections in Texas rose by 6,545 on Monday to nearly 160,000, also
setting a record for a one-day increase.
Nationally, cases rose by more than 40,000, for the fourth time in
the past five days.
ARIZONA HIT HARD
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey on Monday ordered the closure of bars,
nightclubs, gyms, movie theaters and water parks for at least 30
days. Ducey also delayed the start of public schools until at least
Aug. 17.
"Our expectation is that next week our numbers will be worse," Ducey
said at an afternoon news conference. Vice President Mike Pence will
travel to Phoenix on Wednesday to discuss efforts to fight the
pandemic's resurgence.
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Texas and Florida ordered the closure of all their recently reopened bars on
Friday.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said on Monday indoor dining will not resume on
Thursday as planned and would be postponed indefinitely.
In Kansas, Governor Laura Kelly imposed a statewide mandate requiring the
wearing of masks in public spaces, which she said was necessary to avoid another
shutdown.
Beaches in Florida’s Broward County and Palm Beach County will not open for the
July 3-5 holiday weekend, officials said on Sunday, a blow to residents hoping
to celebrate Independence Day there. Miami-Dade County has also announced beach
closures for the holiday weekend.
AMC <AMC.N>, the largest U.S. movie theater chain, on Monday said it was pushing
back the reopening of its theaters to July 30 from July 15.
In June, 22 U.S. states reported record increases in new cases, often multiple
times, including Alaska, Arkansas, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon
and Utah.
The city of Jacksonville, Florida, venue for part of the Republican nominating
convention in August, said on Twitter it would be requiring masks in public
starting later on Monday.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Monday that Trump "has no
problem with masks and to do whatever your local jurisdiction requests."
The New York Times reported on Monday that 43% of U.S. deaths from COVID-19 were
linked to nursing homes and long-term care facilities. The paper cited its own
tracking database.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles and Maria Caspani in New York;
Additional reporting by Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu in Washington, Nathan
Layne in Wilton, Connecticut, Lisa Shumaker in Chicago and Brad Brooks in
Austin; Writing by Grant McCool and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Howard Goller, Bill
Berkrot, Cynthia Osterman, Leslie Adler and Jane Wardell)
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